During the recent shake-up in Saudi Arabia, with planes conveniently crashing on Yemeni borders, the consolidation of power, and Lebanon’s prime minister Saad al-Hariri kidnapped and forced to resign, one can be forgiven for burying their head in the sands of Abu Dhabi. Saudi policy, both domestic and foreign is complicated, but in the midst of this Middle Eastern chaos, considering the aspects the Mainstream Media are refusing to acknowledge, is vital.

The Billion Dollar Trump Deal

It wasn’t so long ago that Trump negotiated a billion dollar military deal with Saudi Arabia. The $110 billion arms deal, brokered in mid-May 2017, with the help of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, has gone largely unreported. The deal at the time left many scratching their heads. Why would the United States funnel so much money into a nation with one of the more appalling human rights records?

The deal included a shopping list of precision-guided bombs, ships and planes, sophisticated radar systems to shoot down ballistic missiles, and one very big contract for Lockheed Martin.

Over ten years, this money is set to renew a commitment to the Persian Gulf’s security. But let’s not get fired up over Republican issues. Former U.S. president Barack Obama approved a $115 billion deal to the region, making both parties equally guilty in funding human rights atrocities.

Prince Mohammed bin Salman

The deputy crown prince at the time, Mohammed bin Salman, was present when the deal was brokered. The same prince who has just consolidated his power in the region.

As far as the U.S. domestic policy is concerned, Trump and Kushner also negotiated a $40 billion deal for Saudi Arabia to invest heavily in U.S. infrastructure. The main reason at the time? To help make America great again.

The Petrodollar and OPEC

It is a matter of following the dollar, oil, and the bouncing ball. Over the last few years, the petrodollar has experienced instability. Saudi Arabia is running out of oil and is currently looking to other economic projects; some with China and others with the U.S.

The petrodollar deal was an ingenious design created by the Nixon administration in the early 1970s. It was a way to safeguard oil rich nations and the United States’ interests soon after several countries asked for their gold to be returned. The U.S. simply no longer had the funds to back the gold and Nixon had to act quickly.

Nixon’s secretary of state at the time, Henry Kissinger, quite proudly negotiated the terms that would lead to the floating of world currencies. An “oil for dollars” system was struck with Saudi Arabia and a new world economy was born: The Petrodollar System.

The U.S., in return for the new system, promised military protection for Saudi borders. By 1975 OPEC arrived and multiple nations agreed on an “oil for dollars” deal. As time went on, Iran, North Korea and Syria, amongst other nations (Russia and China), began to question the validity of the deal, and the term “axis of evil” was coined by the U.S. for the first time.

Oh, and OPEC is now a crumbling system of the past.

If the Strait of Hormuz Closes…

Enter Iran, multiple sanctions and now a looming war with Saudi Arabia, to be fought by proxy in Lebanon.

Iran, under increasing pressure from the US-backed Saudi regime, has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow passage connecting the Arabian Sea to the Persian Gulf. For those uninitiated, the 54 km wide Strait, if closed, will bring the world’s oil imports to a grinding halt – or at least 60 percent. “We have the power to halt oil supply,” a senior Iranian official once said, “down to the last drop.”

And this is why the United States and Saudi Arabia are inclined to topple Iran. The stakes are unbelievably high.

The Strait of Hormuz chokepoint

Iran is Last on The Pentagon Hit List

First it was Iraq. Then Libya. Then Syria. Now North Korea. (Even Venezuela made the cut). And currently…Iran.

It is the worst hidden secret in the U.S. history, after General Wesley Clark spoke about toppling seven nations in five years – and the Pentagon’s intentions to do so. (Venezuela not included). The countries named in the 2011 interview included Iraq (tick), Syria (Russia stopped it), Lebanon (current), Libya (tick), Somalia (tick), Sudan (tick) and finishing with Iran (next). All in the name of oil. If this doesn’t make you think, go back to the top of the list and work your way down again.

.

The government-backed MSM are largely ignoring these facts, hoping to keep the average news goer ignorant. But it cannot be forgotten. The billion dollar U.S.-Saudi military deal has all but been explained; the Saudi consolidation of power runs deeper. This isn’t a straight forward power grab.